Time Out of Joint
Time Out of Joint is an episode of the second season of Batman: The Animated Series. It features the last appearance on the series of The Clock King. "Time Out of Joint" was the 73rd produced episode overall and the eighth episode produced in the second season. Synopsis The Clock King returns to carry out his vendetta against Mayor Hill. This time the clock-mad criminal hopes to murder Hill with the help of a stolen invention that allows him to warp time and travel at super-speed. Securing another device from its creator, Batman and Robin take on the Clock King in a furious high-speed battle for the mayor's life. Plot A charity auction is taking place in the Gotham Antiquarian Society. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are part of the attendees and Bruce buys some items that Dick considers useless. Outside, Temple Fugate makes his way inside but he seems to teleport from one place to another in the blink of an eye. Once inside, Fugate watches as a big old clock comes to the auction and finds his next objective. Dick notices Fugate in the reflection of a mirror, but when he turns around to see the man, Fugate is already gone. Dick tells Bruce about what he saw and just minutes after that, the clock that's being auctioned disappears in front of everyone. Bruce and Dick know that there's something wrong and they get on their way outside. Meanwhile, the Clock King comes out through the back door with the valuable clock in his hands. Fugate seems to be satisfied with the results and he disposes of the clock. Batman and Robin go to the GCPD Headquarters where they meet with Commissioner Gordon and they watch the video tape from the auction. They see the exact moment when the clock disappears and Batman rewinds the tape and slows its speed to get a better look at what happened. In slow motion, they notice a hand that takes the clock in less than a second. Batman and Robin have now a clue and they tell Gordon to warn Mayor Hill, who Fugate has a personal grudge against. At that moment, Fugate arrives at the mansion of Dr. Wakati, an old and frail scientist who hired Fugate as his butler. Fugate comes inside Wakati's room just in time to witness the doctor's most recent invention in work. Dr. Wakati created a device that can accelerate time in a small area, causing a seed to germinate, grow into a plant and die in just a matter of seconds. The doctor is amazed and he knows that science would benefit from his invention. However, Fugate has other plans for the device. Fugate takes the device and amplifies it's effects while reversing them. This allows Fugate to slow time around him in a large area while he is still able to move with no restrictions. He goes to the City Hall and activates the device upon entering. Seen from a distance, it seems like Fugate teleports, but he is just moving faster than the people surrounding him. Fugate walks towards Mayor Hill's office and pass through the police officers outside the office. Fugate stops the device and allows Hill to see him. The mayor tries to escape but Fugate appears in front of him in every direction he moves. In the end, Hill tries to escape through the window but Fugate blocks his way out. Hill gives up and Fugate prepares to finish his revenge. At that moment, Batman and Robin, who were outside the building, prepared a trap for Fugate and they create a flashing light in Hill's office that blinds Fugate temporarily and allows Batman and Robin to get into the office and try to stop him. However, with help from his device, Fugate manages to escape from the grasp of the duo and gets on his way outside, where he avoids been captured by some police officers. On his way out he finds a police car with the keys on but he also notices the Batmobile parked nearby. Fugate turns off the device and he escapes from the place on the police car he found. Batman and Robin are still inside Hill's office and they manage to collect some pieces of Fugate's device that they would use to locate the criminal. Fugate arrives at Dr. Wakati's mansion and finds the old scientist looking for him in his room. The doctor notices that Fugate has taken his device and has been using it for his own personal purposes and tries to stop him, but with the device in his possession, Fugate subdues the doctor. The GCPD finds the stolen police car drowned in a nearby river, next to a train station. Using the computer incorporated in the batmobile, Batman deduces that Fugate took the last train that passed in that route and with that information, they also learn that Fugate headed towards a place called Cranston Estates. Batman knows about Dr. Wakati's knowledge of quantum temporal theory and that he lives there. While on their way to Wakati's place, the Batmobile is trapped in a bubble of slow time caused by a device placed by Fugate underneath the vehicle. The batmobile moves slower than everything outside and thus, they are frozen in time. Batman knows the risk of the situation and using the computer, he locates the source of the trouble. Batman destroys the device with a grappling gun through the car's floor. In a second, the batmobile starts moving again at top speed and Batman can barely control it. After a bumpy ride, Batman breaks the batmobile just in time to crash against a light post. When they're out of the car, Batman and Robin realize that they have been trapped for 2 days. Fugate is going to the opening of a courthouse and places a bomb in the stand, where the mayor would be. Batman and Robin arrive at Dr. Wakati's mansion using Batcycles each. They find the doctor frozen in time by one of his own devices. When they help him out, Wakati explains them that Fugate said something about the mayor getting his day in court. Batman realizes that the new Gotham Courthouse would be opened that same day in just 2 minutes. Batman tries to contact the police to warn them, but there's no signal for phones or any other devices in Wakati's place. With few options left, Batman tells Wakati to show them how to use the time devices. After learning to use them, Batman and Robin head to the courthouse at an amazing speed and arrive just when mayor Hill hits the stand. Batman takes the bomb and carries it away from the place. Running as fast as a bullet, Batman takes the bomb to the river, where he drops it and it explodes. Meanwhile, Robin takes care of Fugate and causes him to fall to the ground and destroys his time device. Later, Dr. Wakati explains Batman and Robin that his invention is not safe for mankind and he won't share it. In the meantime, Fugate is taken to prison for all the crimes he committed - Robin even makes a mocking joke saying that "Fugate now wanted something to make time fly". Cast Category:Episodes Category:Season 2 Category:Written by Alan Burnett Category:Soundtrack by Carl Johnson Category:Animation by Dong Yang Animation Category:Clock King Episodes